MS#3-first 34 rows

Well.....this is the first 34 rows of the Mystery Stole #3. A lot of the other knitters in the group are much farther along than I am and theirs are just gorgeous - I have not seen one that I did not like or think was beautiful. It must be this pattern that while looks so complicated and difficult is really not all that bad as long as I pay attention to the pattern and the details. I seem to have a little bit of an attention span problem :o)!

On row 10 I had to TINK back because I forgot to do the wrong side row and knit row 11 instead of row 10. I had added the beads and everything - had to remove the beads, TINK back, do row 10 and then redo row 11. Kind of time consuming but that's what I get for trying to do this while the kids are awake.

THEN on row 17 I thought my stitch count was off. I kept coming up with 1 less stitch than I thought should be there. I thought I must have forgotten to put in the last YO - tinked back and added a YO from the row above and finished out the row. WELL.....now I had too many stitches - I continued to tink back and add and remove that stitch two more times before I realized that the original row was CORRECT!!! There never was a problem - Geesh talk about making more work!

Now at row 34, everything is correct and I have a lifeline in. WHEW!!! In order to keep on track I need to do at least 17 rows a day so that I finish Clue #1 by the time Clue #2 is released. Wish me luck!!! :o)

One more diamond complete for the SASE scarf. The kids already love it!! I added silver pony beads to the points between the diamonds and they think it's great! This is really a neat knit and it seems to be going rather quickly.




A sweater for my husband. This is a VERY, VERY slow knit. I love the yarn and the pattern - this is my first attempt at cables and I am having to pay complete attention to my work - meaning no knitting when the kids are awake and no TV watching, just knitting. Needless to say, not a lot gets done :o) I am trying to do 2 rows a night so I can make progress and it will eventually get done. Hopefully before we retire!! We're in our 40's so I should be able to achieve that goal (maybe).



Yummy yarn - I went to my LYS last night for knit night and wound up buying more yarn. This is Wisdom Yarns Inspire color #121 (no name). It is actually prettier in person than shows up in this picture. My photography skills need some work :o). Anyway, I am planning on using this for the July scarf for the SASE group.

I also bought this yarn. Words cannot describe how beautiful and soft it is. The owner of the LYS was knitting a faroese shawl out of this and the way it knits up is just gorgeous. I couldn't pass it up! It is Ceallach dyes lace yarn 100% merino wool in the colorway "Dolphins Paradise". If I wasn't so attached to the Zephyr for the MS3 I might have used this yarn. Oh Well.....I'll just have to start something new!!

I am such a joiner! I joined the Shawls and Scarves group and right away started their June scarf. Never mind that there is no way I can finish this one before the July one starts :o) I just decided to add beads to this and placed a silver pony bead right in the center of the diamond closest to the needle. I'll post another picture witht he bead in a couple of days. This will be a scarf that is worn by the kids anyway (all of them are!!) so it might as well be fun.



I bought my beads for MS3 and I am so excited!! They are just about the same color as my yarn but with a little bit of a sheen to them. Tonight is my night to knit at the LYS and I'll try to get my crochet hook - then I'm all set!! Can't wait for the 29th!

Here is my swatch for the MS3 - boy was this fun to knit!!! The yarn is great - it feels so nice. I love the way it knitted up. My only worry now is that it might be a little large. The swatch is a bit bigger than the rest of the group seem to be getting. Mine is 6 1/4" by 3 1/4". I'm not quite sure what to do about that. Should I go down in a needle size?? Maybe I should do another swatch on size 2's. Any suggestions?



This is the finished bookmark for the Bookmark Group. It is also super soft and it was a really fun knit.

This is the finished cloth from the Monthly Dishcloth Group. It is called Moss-Ivy and the pattern is beautiful. I think it would have been better in a solid color because the actual lace would have stood out a little better. It is knit on size 5 needles.

Yipee!! My yarn arrived for the MS3 (Mystery Stole 3). I am so excited!! It is super soft. It is JaggerSpun Zephyr Wool-Silk 2/18 lace weight in the color steel. I am planning on using size 3 needles and I have not yet picked out my beads. I hope to do that this weekend because the first clue comes out on June 29th and I want to be all ready to go.

I was very busy this morning - Up at 5 so that I could get some knitting in before the troops awoke. My mid-month dishcloth, mid-month bookmark and the swatch for the MS3. I will post individual pictures as soon as they are dry.

The dishcloth only had to be tinked one time which I was very happy about. The book mark went very smoothly. This swatch was a little more challenging though. I am knitting with the bamboo needles and now I realize why a lot of the knitters in the group are choosing to knit with sharper needles. It is kind of hard to do K2tog with blunt needles and the times that I had to tink, it was quite a lot of work. The tips of the bamboos just wouldn't go into the stitches, especially those that had been knitted together without a lot of finessing. I am now thinking about some new needles. Let's see if that is in the budget :o)

Days #3 and #4 for the Monthly Dishcloth Group. I finished day 3 yesterday, but did not have time to post. This is a really lovely cloth. I was going to put it in the container for teacher's gifts for next year, but I am going to have a hard time parting with it! I'll just have to make another one :o)

Day #3 for the Monthly Bookmark Group is done!! What a beautiful design! I am loving it and it is really easy to remember. I will be making a few more of these for teacher's gifts for the holidays.



I just joined a group called Flylady.net. This group helps you to get your home organized and make the chaos go away. I am hoping this will prove true for our family!

I am off to make shoe cubbies to corral all the pairs of shoes that a family of 7 can generate :o)

This is my very first sock!!!! I have finally turned the heel and am in the home stretch to finish. Only a couple of more inches and I am done!

Ok...even though I have been jogging or walking everyday this past week, I am up another half a pound for Weight Watchers. I did have some eating challenges over the weekend, but I kind of thought (was hoping) that the exercize would more than cover the food intake. Back to the drawing board!! On the bright side, I am still down 3 pounds overall - that's good right?














Here is day #2 of the monthly bookmark group and the monthly dishcloth group. I love the colors on both. The patterns are pretty nice also

These are the first 9 rows of the June Mid-Month Dishcloth KAL. The yarn is Peaches and Cream and the color is Fiesta Ombre on size 5 needles. I really love this color and I use the size 5 because I like a tighter knit cloth. I can't wait to see what the pattern will be. I really enjoy knitting lace!

Father's Day

I am so excited for Father's Day to get here this year!!! My mother-in-law's birthday is also on Father's Day this year and it will be fun to all be together celebrating so many things.





This is an apron for my Mother-in-law's birthday. All the kids put their handprints on it and I did the writing. I think she will love it!

These are shirts from Mervyns for all the dads in our family. My husband, his father and my father. I can't wait to give them. We will see my in-laws tomorrow for dinner, but my father lives about 6 hours away so I will have to mail it to him. It will arrive late - oh, well.....better late than never :o) He will like it anyway.

New Project

OK, OK, OK....so much for not starting any new projects!! This is the new bookmark from the Monthly Bookmark group that I just had to start. I love this group. The people are so friendly and the bookmarks that I have made from here are simply lovely.




This is using Rayon Crochet that I picked up for 25 cents ages ago in the Pink/Lilacs colorway. I am using size 0 needles. I love the sheen of this thread, but it is very slippery and splits very easily. However, I think it will be so pretty when it is done. Now just awaiting the next clue...

Knitting was slow this week. With 5 kids (only 4 in school), the end of the school year festivities, recitals, concerts, and special school productions seemed a little overwhelming. Not to mention the notes to the teachers and coaches and so on.....

Yesterday was our last day of school and we celebrated by taking as many of the teachers as would come out to ice cream. A good time was had by all. Then I brought the kids and their friends home, turned on the sprinklers and sat down for awhile!! WHEW! Another school year at a close. I certainly cannot believe it is over - it went so fast! Next year we will have a preschooler, a kindergartener, 2ndgrader, 4th grader and 7th grader. I must be getting old :o)

The only knitting related thing that got worked on was my current carproject "The Squared Up Circle Throw" from Knit Picks. A few more rows got completed and I am back into the pastel and white colors of the variegated yarn. The ball of yarn is slowly but surely getting smaller and smaller :o).

Today was weigh in day for me for Weight Watchers and I am up 1 pound. This weekend was not a very good weekend for me :o(. Total loss in two weeks is 4 pounds. More exercize I guess and less sodas.

This is my new car knitting project. It is called "Squared Up the Circle Throw" from Knit Picks and I am using Super Cozy (660 yds). The color I am not sure of because I threw away the band but as soon as this ball is finished I will join a second in a variegated turqouise color. I am sure this will also feel like a VERY LONG, LONG knit by the time I am done, but right now I am totally enjoying it. I love to watch the change in colors.

New Things

In keeping with the theme of knitting from your stash, I have been frantically finishing up projects that have already been started and then put on the back burner in order to start newer and more exciting projects. Of course, the newer exciting projects then dim after a little while and more projects get cast on. Well.....I have dubbed this year as the year of the finished project and so far have done ok.

What you see below is the finished purse from the kit called "Alexandra" that was purchased almost a year ago. It was picked out by DD#2 who has been anxiously awaiting the finished project!! It was quite a quick knit and easy to put together and I would do it again if I had the chance.

Above is the blanket that took FOREVER!!! The pattern is "grandmother's favorite" for a dishcloth, just made bigger. I used to balls of yarn. Since it is knit on the diagonal, when I was almost done with the first ball of yarn I stopped increasing (with 190 stitches on the needles), joined the second ball and started the decreases. This one went to DS#1 who had picked out the yarn after seeing the blanket I knit last summer for my nephew.

I started this pattern as the bookmark for the Monthly Bookmark group. It is the April pattern. After knitting for awhile, I decided it was too pretty for just a bookmark so I decided to continue on until it measured 22 inches and gave it to DD#2 for a scarf for her doll.

Here is Oreo, the newest addition to our family. She is super friendly and the kids and their friends all love her. She is a great pet!!

On the non-knitting front, my son's last baseball game was yesterday and they had an end of year party. I made this cake for the party. It is chocolate!! His favorite.